GAME DAY: Longhorns host Kansas State Wildcats

The Texas Longhorns (2-2, 1-0) will host the Kansas State Wildcats (3-1, 1-0) at Darrel K. Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium at 6:00 pm on Saturday evening.  The Longhorns will be playing at home for the first time since September 9th, when they won their first game of the season by defeating San Jose State 56-0.  Both teams are 1-0 in conference play, with Texas defeating Iowa State on the road last Thursday night, and Kansas State beating Baylor in Manhattan last Saturday 33-20.

Kansas State leads the all-time series in wins (1o wins, 7 losses) with 7 of those wins delivered during head coach Bill Snyder’s tenure.  Historically, the Longhorns fare better against the Wildcats when playing in Austin, holding a 6-3 all-time record.

The Kansas State offense will be led by senior quarterback Jesse Ertz, who has rushed for 221 yards and two touchdowns in his last two games. Ertz has 1,395 career rushing yards and passed former Wildcat quarterback Michael Bishop (1997-98) for third place in school history in career rushing yards.

The Wildcat defense has done an excellent job limiting opponent scoring and forcing turnovers.  They held Baylor to just 84 yards rushing last weekend in Manhattan and currently lead the Big 12 in total defense.  In each of their first four games Kansas State has held its opponent to 21 points or less and rank 9th nationally in turnover margin (+6).

Texas lists Shane Buechele or Sam Ehlinger as the starting quarterback for the game, but much will depend on the progress of Buechele’s ankle, which he sprained in the win over Iowa State.  Buechele was 19-26 and threw for 171 yards and one touchdown against the Cyclones. Buechele has thrown a touchdown pass in 13 of 14 games since arriving on the 40 Acres.  Ehlinger won his first career start when Texas shutout San Jose State 56-0 and came up short in his second start when the Longhorns lost to USC on the road in double overtime 27-24.

The Texas defense allowed just 10 rushing yards and 7 points to Iowa State last week and picked off quarterback Jacob Park three times.  In the season opener against Maryland, the Terrapins offense had its way with the Longhorns, passing for 219 yards and rushing for 263 yards.  Over the last three games, Texas’ defense is allowing just 11.3 points per game, 298.3 total yards per game and just 41.0 rushing yards per game.